Shot By Adam wrote:
Everyone is shocked but when was the last time you bought anything from them?

Actually, not too long ago.  They were about the only place in NYC you could go to on a Saturday if you needed something. 

Also had great repair and rental service.

Shot By Adam wrote:
Everyone is shocked but when was the last time you bought anything from them?

You may be right, but nevertheless how many of us saw this one coming.  At least it is a surprise for me!

Shot By Adam wrote:
Everyone is shocked but when was the last time you bought anything from them?

Last time I tried they treated me like s%$t

Shot By Adam wrote:
Everyone is shocked but when was the last time you bought anything from them?

About a month ago

Shot By Adam wrote:
Everyone is shocked but when was the last time you bought anything from them?

Brooklyn Bridge Images wrote:
Last time I tried they treated me like s%$t

I'm amazed, I was always very well treated there.

Giacomo Cirrincioni wrote:

Actually, not too long ago.  They were about the only place in NYC you could go to on a Saturday if you needed something. 

Also had great repair and rental service.

Yea, not easy to compete with B&H and Adorama - except on Saturdays and Jewish holidays

The real shock would be if one of them closed

Shot By Adam wrote:
Everyone is shocked but when was the last time you bought anything from them?

I used to go there 2-3 times a week.  The store was down the street from my San Francisco studio.  They were always a great place to deal with and I was constantly well treated.

I am shocked and I will miss them!

I will say that, in the Bay anyhow, since Samy's got here, I think they have been struggling more.  Plus the Looking Glass just went through a major expansion as well.

Giacomo Cirrincioni wrote:
Actually, not too long ago.  They were about the only place in NYC you could go to on a Saturday if you needed something. 

Also had great repair and rental service.

Jeff Fiore wrote:
Yea, not easy to compete with B&H and Adorama - except on Saturdays and Jewish holidays

The real shock would be if one of them closed

How long until Fotocare closes...

me voy wrote:
I almost bought a used lens from them a month ago. I am glad I didn't in case I decided to return it. The main reason for their failure was their useless website. That was the reason why I never bought anything from them.

Calumet never made the transition to a web based business.  Hell, they never really made the transition to a mass consumer business, though they tried.  The did always offer equipment to the enthusiast shooter, but that market changed radically with digital, and I don't think Calumet kept up.

That's why I mention Fotocare.  They are entirely geared towards working pros and I suspect they will suffer a similar fate in the future.

Jeff Fiore wrote:

Yea, not easy to compete with B&H and Adorama - except on Saturdays and Jewish holidays

The real shock would be if one of them closed

I stopped buying from B&H as they are just too slow to get stuff to me on the west coast.  Often 9 days with the weekend or even longer if they observed one of their holidays.  Samy's in LA is overnight to me.

Amazon seems to get the majority of my orders now, and I notice some of Amazon stuff seems to come from Adorama at times, but again, still very slow against an Amazon warehouse on the west coast or Samy's.

Too bad about Calumet.  I liked their Hollywood store and often got free stuff like new papers to try out from them.  No issue at all other than parking which wasn't always easy to find.

I've been waiting to see if Freestyle in Hollywood goes next.  Film and chemistry, which was their bread and butter for years, seems to be on a death spiral.

Giacomo Cirrincioni wrote:
Actually, not too long ago.  They were about the only place in NYC you could go to on a Saturday if you needed something. 

Also had great repair and rental service.

+1 B&H has frustrated me on more than one occasion when I need something last minute and forget about their crazy hours.

GRMACK wrote:

I stopped buying from B&H as they are just too slow to get stuff to me on the west coast.  Often 9 days with the weekend or even longer if they observed one of their holidays.  Samy's in LA is overnight to me.

Amazon seems to get the majority of my orders now, and I notice some of Amazon stuff seems to come from Adorama at times, but again, still very slow against an Amazon warehouse on the west coast or Samy's.

Too bad about Calumet.  I liked their Hollywood store and often got free stuff like new papers to try out from them.  No issue at all other than parking which wasn't always easy to find.

I've been waiting to see if Freestyle in Hollywood goes next.  Film and chemistry, which was their bread and butter for years, seems to be on a death spiral.

Freestyle is still alive??? Wow.

I used to go to Samy's in Venice a lot when I was a student at SMC. The sales people kept on taking care of other customers because I looked like a student. If they saw a well know photographer pulling in their parking lot, they would try to hurry up and be ready to attend the well known photographer.

Brooklyn Bridge Images wrote:
Last time I tried they treated me like s%$t

Yep, same here, I visited two local stores and I guess they thought I looked too young to have any money, because they were rude and snobbish.  Little did they know I have nearly $20k invested in photographic equipment and I prefer seeing before buying.  I took my business to Samys in West LA, Pasadena Samys sucks, they are not the greatest but I least they do not look down on me as soon as they find out I am only looking for a tripod head or something that only costs $200-500.

GRMACK wrote:
I stopped buying from B&H as they are just too slow to get stuff to me on the west coast.  Often 9 days with the weekend or even longer if they observed one of their holidays.  Samy's in LA is overnight to me.

Amazon seems to get the majority of my orders now, and I notice some of Amazon stuff seems to come from Adorama at times, but again, still very slow against an Amazon warehouse on the west coast or Samy's.

Too bad about Calumet.  I liked their Hollywood store and often got free stuff like new papers to try out from them.  No issue at all other than parking which wasn't always easy to find.

I've been waiting to see if Freestyle in Hollywood goes next.  Film and chemistry, which was their bread and butter for years, seems to be on a death spiral.

me voy wrote:
Freestyle is still alive??? Wow.

I used to go to Samy's in Venice a lot when I was a student at SMC. The sales people kept on taking care of other customers because I looked like a student. If they saw a well know photographer pulling in their parking lot, they would try to hurry up and be ready to attend the well known photographer.

I don't think Freestyle is going anywhere.  Film & chemistry sales appear to have already bottomed out and have actually grown in recent years.  It will never again be a commodity for the masses, but many, many people still shoot it.  The number of young students at ICP who are completely committed to film is very heartening, and I hear the same from teachers at a lot of schools. 

Film manufactures that have this niche as their business model (Ilford, Arista, etc.) are strong.  It is only the behemoths like Kodak and Fuji that struggled due to their past business model.  Kodak's film division, however, always remained profitable, and now that it's been sold, reportedly, profits are even higher. 

Hell, JOBO released a new $3,500 film processor (CPP-3) and they've been having trouble keeping up with demand.

Everything about the situation is grave as grave gets. Court papers show that Calumet is declaring less than $50K in assets and between $1M and $10M in liabilities. And to make the situation even worse, the company seems to have handled the bankruptcy extremely poorly, giving their employees ZERO notice until this very morning.

and

It seems the stories told in those Facebook comments ring true: personal belongings locked in stores, rented gear still out to customers, an obscene amount of liability with little to no assets to cover it — there is absolutely no silver lining to speak of.

Giacomo Cirrincioni wrote:
I don't think Freestyle is going anywhere.  Film & chemistry sales appear to have already bottomed out and have actually grown in recent years.  It will never again be a commodity for the masses, but many, many people still shoot it.  The number of young students at ICP who are completely committed to film is very heartening, and I hear the same from teachers at a lot of schools. 

Film manufactures that have this niche as their business model (Ilford, Arista, etc.) are strong.  It is only the behemoths like Kodak and Fuji that struggled due to their past business model.  Kodak's film division, however, always remained profitable, and now that it's been sold, reportedly, profits are even higher. 

Hell, JOBO released a new $3,500 film processor (CPP-3) and they've been having trouble keeping up with demand.

I don't know.  Our local drug stores that used to have on-site film processing are fewer now and only one local I can think of.  Some talk in dpreview of Costco no longer finding it cost effective and closing down some SE processing in their stores:  http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3634967

Local college is still doing film and paper, but teachers are very slow to get up to speed on their lesson plans until they retire or hire new blood.  Two years ago I tried to take a Photoshop CS class and neither the university nor community college offered anything more than Elements.  Adobe may be pricing themselves out of the market too with them and licensing.

Some pros here are still doing film as well with the one remaining photo shop/lab we have, maybe they don't want to learn digital or upgrade equipment.  Most are approaching retirement as is.  I give most of them maybe 5 more years of film at most.  Then it will becomes some archaic photo process for a few to play with.  I find enlargers in antique stores for very little, probably someone died and there they go.  I know one pro who got a "free" 8x10 cold lamp enlarger in Carmel.

Adobe has offered up $300 million in software to the schools which will no doubt push digital more.  How long is the question?  Cell phones and just posting to the web means no need for printing and minimal processing with some $5 app.  I recently went to a wedding where all the wedding photos were shots by the attendees with their phones and uploaded to the groom and bride's website and shown on a big screen in real time.  No pro or film around.  Cell tech is moving far too quick and may end up being some quasi-pro instant digital format in the future with some shooters.

Ilford recently closed their "inkjet" paper factory.  Too many competitors maybe.  Their film and paper may be next to go, but I feel they may be trying to hold onto the residuals of Kodak's mess.  Might not be long though.

At least Freestyle is moving into the inkjet world.  They do offer classes in the huge amount of inkjet papers they carry which might keep them around a bit longer.  If pros continue to move to web images or tablet images, that too might go.

At this rate, Amazon may be the last one standing and still selling when the pro shops close.

Back to making my own collodion brew....

GRMACK wrote:
I stopped buying from B&H as they are just too slow to get stuff to me

On occasions B&H deliver to me and I'm based in the UK across the pond... 4 days... better than our UK postal system.

Shot By Adam wrote:
Everyone is shocked but when was the last time you bought anything from them?

About 10 days ago: I got a new camera/laptop bag from the Oak Brook store

Shot By Adam wrote:
Everyone is shocked but when was the last time you bought anything from them?

If they had it I would go there on Highland near Santa Monica Blvd before going to Samy's because it was a shorter drive and on my way to more places.

GRMACK wrote:
Website is gone, and this Facebook message:  https://www.facebook.com/calumetphotographic

After 75 years USA stores are now closed.  European ones still open, but for how long?

I did post a concern about Calumet a couple of weeks ago - my concern was driven from the fact they had little to nothing in stock. Gracious I was hoping this was not going to happen......

Mike

GRMACK wrote:
I don't know.  Our local drug stores that used to have on-site film processing are fewer now and only one local I can think of.  Some talk in dpreview of Costco no longer finding it cost effective and closing down some SE processing in their stores:  http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3634967

Local college is still doing film and paper, but teachers are very slow to get up to speed on their lesson plans until they retire or hire new blood.  Two years ago I tried to take a Photoshop CS class and neither the university nor community college offered anything more than Elements.  Adobe may be pricing themselves out of the market too with them and licensing.

Some pros here are still doing film as well with the one remaining photo shop/lab we have, maybe they don't want to learn digital or upgrade equipment.  Most are approaching retirement as is.  I give most of them maybe 5 more years of film at most.  Then it will becomes some archaic photo process for a few to play with.  I find enlargers in antique stores for very little, probably someone died and there they go.  I know one pro who got a "free" 8x10 cold lamp enlarger in Carmel.

Adobe has offered up $300 million in software to the schools which will no doubt push digital more.  How long is the question?  Cell phones and just posting to the web means no need for printing and minimal processing with some $5 app.  I recently went to a wedding where all the wedding photos were shots by the attendees with their phones and uploaded to the groom and bride's website and shown on a big screen in real time.  No pro or film around.  Cell tech is moving far too quick and may end up being some quasi-pro instant digital format in the future with some shooters.

Ilford recently closed their "inkjet" paper factory.  Too many competitors maybe.  Their film and paper may be next to go, but I feel they may be trying to hold onto the residuals of Kodak's mess.  Might not be long though.

At least Freestyle is moving into the inkjet world.  They do offer classes in the huge amount of inkjet papers they carry which might keep them around a bit longer.  If pros continue to move to web images or tablet images, that too might go.

At this rate, Amazon may be the last one standing and still selling when the pro shops close.

Back to making my own collodion brew....

Drugstore processing is a product/services for the masses - that is dead.  Commercial work, with the exception of certain purpose driven projects, is all digital, film, for most commercial work, is dead. 

Film and traditional processing is now an artist's medium.  It will continue to live on in that regard, if a bit more expensive.  Just as canvas and oils are still sold.Ilford's film division is profitable, as is Kodak's.  Both are reporting increases, as a matter of fact.

I'm often amazed by the responses on this forum, which appears to be vastly made up of digital hobbyists.  There is still a large, vibrant community of film shooters, even if it is minuscule in comparison to the number of dilettantes that pick up a DSLR.

Ilford just released a new line of B&W photopaper.  I picked up a couple of boxes on Sunday to test.

Calumet didn't have the decency to tell there employees what was happening they had to show up at work to find out it was closed. How about treating your employees with respect.

Ouch.

Mike Kirwan Photography wrote:

I did post a concern about Calumet a couple of weeks ago - my concern was driven from the fact they had little to nothing in stock. Gracious I was hoping this was not going to happen......

Mike

Ditto. I kept checking their site, but most of what I wanted to order was out of stock. Then just a couple of weeks ago, their Travelites disappeared from their website completely, so I thought this might be coming. It's disappointing that they're now gone.

SPV Photo wrote:
From Facebook...


Ouch.

I saw that comment, too. Ouch is right.

GRMACK wrote:

I don't know.  Our local drug stores that used to have on-site film processing are fewer now and only one local I can think of.  Some talk in dpreview of Costco no longer finding it cost effective and closing down some SE processing in their stores:  http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3634967

Local college is still doing film and paper, but teachers are very slow to get up to speed on their lesson plans until they retire or hire new blood.  Two years ago I tried to take a Photoshop CS class and neither the university nor community college offered anything more than Elements.  Adobe may be pricing themselves out of the market too with them and licensing.

Some pros here are still doing film as well with the one remaining photo shop/lab we have, maybe they don't want to learn digital or upgrade equipment.  Most are approaching retirement as is.  I give most of them maybe 5 more years of film at most.  Then it will becomes some archaic photo process for a few to play with.  I find enlargers in antique stores for very little, probably someone died and there they go.  I know one pro who got a "free" 8x10 cold lamp enlarger in Carmel.

Adobe has offered up $300 million in software to the schools which will no doubt push digital more.  How long is the question?  Cell phones and just posting to the web means no need for printing and minimal processing with some $5 app.  I recently went to a wedding where all the wedding photos were shots by the attendees with their phones and uploaded to the groom and bride's website and shown on a big screen in real time.  No pro or film around.  Cell tech is moving far too quick and may end up being some quasi-pro instant digital format in the future with some shooters.

Ilford recently closed their "inkjet" paper factory.  Too many competitors maybe.  Their film and paper may be next to go, but I feel they may be trying to hold onto the residuals of Kodak's mess.  Might not be long though.

At least Freestyle is moving into the inkjet world.  They do offer classes in the huge amount of inkjet papers they carry which might keep them around a bit longer.  If pros continue to move to web images or tablet images, that too might go.

At this rate, Amazon may be the last one standing and still selling when the pro shops close.

Back to making my own collodion brew....

Freestyle is not like your local drugstore or Costco or anything else. Back 20 something years ago the photo classes at my tiny little community college in Florida would pool our money in order to get better prices on huge orders from Freestyle. I bet that's still going on all over the country. I just went back to my old school a couple of years ago and they had recently installed two brand new darkrooms, one B/W and one color. Film is a long ways from dead and while I haven't paid any attention to it in years I bet Freestyle has set it self up to do just fine in this market.